Epsilon Eridani's Planetary Debris Disk: Structure and Dynamics based on Spitzer and CSO Observations

TL;DR

This study uses Spitzer and CSO observations to reveal the complex structure and dynamics of epsilon Eridani's debris disk, identifying multiple dust belts and suggesting planetary influences on its architecture.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed model of the debris disk's structure, including multiple dust belts and their composition, based on combined infrared and submillimeter data.

Findings

The debris disk contains a sub-mm ring at 35-90 AU with large grains.

Inner dust belts at ~3 AU and within the ring are identified.

A dynamical model suggests planetary bodies influence disk structure.

Abstract

Spitzer and Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) images and spectrophotometry of epsilon Eridani at wavelengths from 3.5 to 350 um reveal new details of its bright debris disk. The 350 um map confirms the presence of a ring at r = 11-28 arcsec (35-90 AU) observed previously at longer sub-mm wavelengths. The Spitzer mid- and far-IR images do not show the ring, but rather a featureless disk extending from within a few arcsec of the star across the ring to r ~ 34 arcsec (110 AU). The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the debris system implies a complex structure. A model constrained by the surface brightness profiles and the SED indicates that the sub-mm ring emission is primarily from large (a ~ 135 um) grains, with smaller (a ~ 15 um) grains also present in and beyond the ring. The Spitzer IRS and MIPS SED-mode spectrophotometry data clearly show the presence of spatially compact excess emission at lambda > 15 um that requires the presence of two additional narrow belts of dust within the sub-mm ring's central void. The innermost belt at r ~ 3 AU is composed of silicate dust. A simple dynamical model suggests that dust produced collisionally by a population of about 11 M_Earth of planetesimals in the sub-mm ring could be the source of the emission from both in and beyond the sub-mm ring. Maintaining the inner belts and the inner edge to the sub-mm ring may require the presence of three planets in this system including the candidate radial velocity object.